Gusseted T-Shirt Bag and Bagging Rack

ABSTRACT

A rack and T-shirt bag which may be used in combination are disclosed. The T-shirt bag includes elongated tabs which can be tied together when the bag is loaded with items. A pack of the bags can also include contact adhesive disposed between adjacent bags that will cause a successive bag to open as a lead bag is removed. The rack includes a pair of handle mounting arms for mounting a pack of T-shirt bags, the arms having an upwardly extending portion which lifts the bags and increases their perceived volume as they are being loaded. The arms also include a stopper for preventing removal of successive bags as the lead bag is removed. A side-mounted bag dispenser for mounting a second pack of T-shirt bags can be selectively attached to the rack. The dispenser includes a handle support arm which supports the bags as they are loaded.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to plastic bags and bagging racks and, moreparticularly, to gusseted bags, especially bags commonly referred to ast-shirt bags, and racks for dispensing the gusseted bags.

BACKGROUND

A bag commonly in use throughout the United States and elsewhere isknown as a t-shirt bag. T-shirt bags are customarily made from tubularplastic film which is gusseted, sealed, and cut to form a bag withhandles on the sides of the bag.

T-shirt bags are provided in a stack which is placed on a bagging rack.The user can withdraw bags individually from the bagging rack. However,in some conventional t-shirt bags, tabs or other sections of the bag areleft on the rack as the bags are removed from the rack. Therefore,before a new stack of bags can be loaded onto the rack, the remaindersfrom the last stack of bags must first be removed from the rack.

In another type of conventional bag, a tab is provided with a centralslit that extends over a substantial distance along the width of thetab, and the slit allows the bag to be loaded over a central mountingarm or prong on the rack. When the bag is removed from the rack, a tearis formed at one end of the slit while the tab remains intact at theother end of the slit. The tab is thus removed from the rack but stillremains connected to the bag. This type of bag is known as a “tabless”bag. Nothing is left behind on the rack after dispensing the bags.However, the torn tab of this conventional bag is rendered useless sincemost of the tab has been disconnected from the bag due to the length ofthe slit.

The slit allows the bags to mount onto a prong of the bagging rack.However, if the prong of the bagging rack curves toward the front of therack, the slit can slide off the prong of the bagging rack, thereby notproviding a secure loading of the bags. Also, if the prong is straightor curves rearward, the user must lift the pack of bags up and over theprongs of the bagging rack, which makes assembly more inconvenient.

Furthermore, some conventional bags are formed with a slit that issmaller than the prong so that it is necessary to stretch the slit whileloading the bags onto the bagging rack. However, this makes the tabsharder to slide over the prongs and therefore harder to load onto thebagging rack.

Furthermore, some conventional racks do not allow the bags to fullyexpand, thereby preventing the user from completely utilizing all of theavailable space inside the bag. For example, when the rack does notallow the front wall of the bag to expand completely, slack is left inthe bag. Because the bag's apparent volume is less than its fullyexpanded volume, the user may not completely fill the bag since the useris unable to recognize that there is more available space in the bag.The user thinks the bag is fall when it actually is not.

Furthermore, some conventional bags have an adhesive bond between bagsto facilitate the self-opening feature. This creates bag waste as thebagger inadvertently removes extra unused bags from the rack whenremoving the loaded leader bag from the rack.

Furthermore, some conventional bag racks provide a side hook formounting an additional bundle of convenience T-shirt bags (usuallysmaller in size than the T-shirt bags that are loaded on the mainportion of the rack). The convenience bags are typically mounted ontothe side hook by the bag tab mounting slot. However, usually the weightof a single item when placed in the bag will cause the tab to tear andthe bag to separate from the rack and fall to the floor. Therefore, theuser will have to support the bag with the user's hands while, inaddition, trying to load items into the bag.

The present invention provides a t-shirt bag that does not leave tabs onthe bagging rack after the bags have been dispensed and that allows thetabs to be used to close the bag. The present invention also provides abagging rack and a t-shirt bag for dispensing from the rack that canfully expand when the user places items in the bag while it is still onthe rack, that is prevented from sliding off the bagging rackprematurely, and that can easily slide over the prong of the baggingrack during loading.

The present invention also provides a bagging rack which facilitatesremoval of only one bag at a time. Although each bag is adhered to itspreceding bag with a strong self-opening feature, the bag following thebag being loaded is stopped at the front of the arms of the t-shirtrack, and will not be removed from the rack when the loaded leader bagis removed from the rack.

The present invention also provides a side-mounted bag dispenser whichprovides support for bag handles. Convenience sized bags can be mountedon the side of the rack and supported by the side-mounted dispenserwhile a user loads the bag.

The t-shirt bag and bagging rack of the present invention overcomesthese problems of the prior art, but also provides an efficient one bagat a time self-opening feature, allows a greater number of bags to beloaded onto the rack, and provides a removable closing feature.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other features of the present invention will be morereadily apparent from the following detailed description and drawings ofthe illustrative embodiments of the invention wherein like referencenumbers refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view of a t-shirt bag according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a bagging rack according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a stack of t-shirt bags of FIG. 1 loaded ontothe rack of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a stack of t-shirt bags of FIG. 1 loaded ontothe rack of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a stack of t-shirt bags of FIG. 1 loaded ontothe rack of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5A is a close up side view of the end portion of the handlemounting arm having a notch;

FIG. 5B is a close up side view of the end portion of the handlemounting arm having a raised portion;

FIG. 6A is a sectional side view taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 3 of asingle t-shirt bag loaded onto the rack;

FIG. 6B is a sectional side view of the t-shirt bag and rack of FIG. 6Aas a front wall of the bag is pulled away from a rear wall of the bag;

FIG. 6C is a sectional side view of the t-shirt bag and rack of FIG. 6Aas the front and rear walls of the bag are pulled away from a rear wallof the rack;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the t-shirt bag of FIG. 1 with tabs tiedtogether;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the t-shirt bag of FIG. 1 with the handlespulled away from each other in preparation for loading onto a rack;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a t-shirt bag according to a comparativeexample; and

FIG. 10 is a front view of the t-shirt bag of FIG. 9 with the handlespulled away from each other in preparation for loading onto a rack;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a bagging rack according to anotherembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a front view of the rack of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the rack of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13A is a close up side view of the end portion of the handlemounting arm having an upwardly angled portion;

FIG. 14 is atop view of the rack of FIG. 11;

FIG. 15 is a close up side view of the t-shirt bag of FIG. 1 mounted ontab mounting arms;

FIG. 16 is an exploded view of the rack of FIG. 11 with a side-mountedbag dispensing attachment;

FIG. 17 is a side view of the side-mounted dispenser mounted on the rackof FIG. 11;

FIG. 18 is a sectional front view taken along the line 18-18 of FIG. 17of the side-mounted dispenser mounted on the rack of FIG. 11;

FIG. 19 is a side view of a stack of t-shirt bags loaded onto theside-mounted dispenser of FIG. 16, which is mounted on the rack of FIG.11.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1-8 illustrate gusseted t-shirt bags 10 and a bagging rack 50 fordispensing the bags according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a front view of the t-shirt bag 10, and FIG. 7 is aperspective view of the t-shirt bag 10 when it is loaded and has itstabs 25 tied together to close the bag 10. The t-shirt bag 10 may bemanufactured from an extruded tubular form made of a plastic materialsuch as polyethylene. The tube is then partially gusseted, forming aninner fold 11 and two outer folds 12, which form the side edges of thebag 10. The resulting gusseted bag 10 contains two outer regions, eachof which contains four plies of film, and a central region whichcontains only two plies. The flattened, gusseted web, which includeswalls 13, 14, is then welded to form a bottom seal 15 and an upper seal16.

The sealed web is then passed through a cutting station in whichindividual bags 10 are cut from the web. The bags 10 are then stacked(for example, in stacks of fifty bags), and each stack of bags is passedthrough a die cutting station to form cut-out regions 18 in the bags 10.As a result of the shape of the cut-out region 18, two handles 20 areformed in the gusseted side portions of the bag 10 and two tabs 25extend upwards from a top edge 19 of each of the walls 13, 14 betweenthe two handles 20.

C slots 22 are formed in each of the handles 20 such that when the bags10 are stacked together, the C slots 22 in each respective handle 20 arealigned with each other. In the embodiment of the invention shown inFIGS. 1-8, the ends of the C slots 22 face the side edges 12 of the bag10.

Each tab 25 includes a top edge 26 and a bottom portion 27 that joinsthe tab 25 to the top edge 19 of the walls 13, 14. A tab mounting C slot28 is formed close to the bottom portion 27 and on each side of the tab25. As shown in FIG. 1, the tab mounting C slots 28 are generallycircular and each has two ends 28A that form an uncut portion thatallows the bag material bounded by the generally circular cut of the tabmounting slots 28 to remain connected to the bag 10.

In an embodiment of the invention, the material of the bag 10 is formedso that it is easier to tear the material in a vertical direction(up/down direction in FIG. 1) than a horizontal direction (left/rightdirection in FIG. 1). This is due to the molecular alignment of the bagmaterial during the extrusion process. To produce a horizontal tear inthe material, the bag material must be deformed or cut mechanically.Thus, at least one of the ends 28A of the tab mounting slots 28 ispositioned substantially vertical, or at least slightly vertical, toallow a tear to form in the tab 25 relatively easily.

The tab mounting C slots 28 are positioned towards the lower, outsideedges of the tab 25. Such positioning of the tab mounting slots 28provides several advantages. First, it prevents the tabs 25 from beingtorn or destroyed as the bag 10 is separated from the stack of bags andpulled forward on the mounting arms of the rack 50. The width of thetabs 25 is not significantly reduced; therefore, the tabs 25 of thepresent invention remain intact and useful and can then be tied togetherto secure the contents of the bag 10, as shown in FIG. 7.

When the user pulls one of the bags 10 away from the stack, a tear isformed between one of the ends 28A of the tab mounting C slots 28 andthe outside edge of the tab 25. Since the portion of the bag 10 betweenthe other end 28A of the tab mounting C slot 28 and the outside edge ofthe tab 25 remains unbroken, none of the material of the bag 10 is tornaway from the bag 10. All of the bag material remains intact. Thus, thetab mounting C slots 28 allow the tabs 25 to remain on the bags 10; theyare not left behind on the rack after the bag is removed. Therefore,this design is known as a “tabless” bag design.

The tabs 25 are long enough to allow the user to tie them together afteritems are placed in the bag 10, as shown in FIG. 7. Since the tabs 25extend from the front and rear walls 13, 14, respectively, tying thetabs 25 together provides an effective closure mechanism for the bag 10that helps to prevent items from falling out of the bag 10. After thetabs 25 are tied, the user may use the handles 20 to carry the closedbag 10.

In most conventional t-shirt bag designs, the tabs are short and have nopurpose other than to include an aperture to allow the bag to be mountedto the rack. Also, in some conventional t-shirt bags, the tabs aredestroyed in the process of separating the bag from the stack of bagsand can no longer serve a useful purpose. Even if the tabs were toremain intact on the bag, the tabs would still be too short to be usedfor other purposes, such as to close the bag as in the presentinvention.

A central slot 29 is formed generally near the center of the bottomportion 27 of the tab 25 where the tab 25 joins the walls 13, 14 of thebag 10. The central slot 29 is generally curved, e.g., half moon orU-shaped, with ends 29A pointed generally upward. The central slot 29 ispreferably formed on the bottom portion 27 of the tab 25. However, it isalso possible to position the central slot 29 near the top of the walls13, 14 of the bag 10 close to the bottom portions 27 of the tabs 25.

Once the bag 10 is filled and the two tabs 25 in the bag have been tiedtogether, it is difficult to untie them. The central slots 29 allow theuser to quickly open the bag 10 without destroying it by inserting afinger in one or both of the apertures formed by slots 29 and pulling inany direction until one or both of the tied tabs 25 is separated fromthe wall 13, 14 to which it had been attached. If only one of the tiedtabs 25 is separated from its adjacent wall 13, 14, the remaining tiedtab 25 is still attached to the opposite wall 13, 14. As a result,neither of the walls 13, 14 is destroyed.

The tab mounting slots 28 and the central slot 29 can be formed in bothtabs 25, which are connected to the walls 13, 14. When the bags 10 arestacked together, the respective tab mounting slots 28 and the centralslots 29 in each bag 10 are aligned with each other.

A spot of contact adhesive 30 is applied between the front and rearwalls 13, 14 of adjacent bags 10 in order to provide a self-openingfeature for the bags 10. As the user pulls a forwardly lying bag awayfrom the pack of bags, the contact adhesive 30 allows the front wall 13of the rearwardly lying bag to be pulled forward, thereby opening therearwardly lying bag before or while the forwardly lying bag is removedfrom the rack.

Locating the contact adhesive 30 close to one of the tab mounting slots28 permits the use of less adhesive glue, since less glue will tear onlyone tab of C slot 28 at a time, rather than using more glue which wouldtear both tabs of C slots 28 at the same time. The contact adhesive 30can be placed in proximity to slots 28 by placing it near the bottomportion 27 of the tab 25 or near the top edge 19 of the walls 13, 14.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the bagging rack 50. The rack 50includes a floor 52, a rear wall formed by horizontal bars 54, and twohandle mounting arms 58. The floor 52 of the rack 50 is substantiallyhorizontal and serves as a base for the rack 50.

The rear wall 54 of the rack includes a horizontal top bar 55. The topbar 55 has a concave portion 56 that forms a hollow 57 at the center ofthe top, rear portion of the rack 50. The hollow 57 is positioned on thefront side of the rear wall 54 of the rack 50 and is provided forplacement of the tabs 25 of the bags 10 while permitting the rear wall54 of the rack 50 to be placed flush against a wall of a bagging station(not shown) while the rack 50 is loaded with bags 10.

The concave portion 56 of the top bar 55 also allows the length of thetwo handle mounting arms 58 to be increased, thereby permitting theloading of more bag bundles on the rack 50. Although the top bar 55 mustextend away from the rear wall 54 of the rack 50 to allow the tabs 25 ofthe bags 10 to be arranged between the top bar 55 and the wall of thebagging station, the concave portion 56 allows the handle mounting arms58 to extend the full length of the rack 50 from the wall of the baggingstation to the front of the rack 50.

The concave portion 56 of the top bar 55 also pitches the top edge 19 ofthe walls 13, 14 of the bag 10 forward in a concave fashion, therebydecreasing the force needed to separate the front wall 13 of the bag 10from the rear wall 14.

At least a portion of the handle mounting arms 58 extends upwardly.Preferably, the upwardly extending portion of the arms is positionedtoward the front of the rack 50. When the front wall 13 of the t-shirtbag 10 is pulled forward to open the bag 10, the bag handles 20 alsoslide forward on the handle mounting arms 58 of the rack 50. The upwardrise in the front portion of the handle mounting arms 58 lifts the baghandles 20, thereby allowing for full extension of the front wall 13 andthe side walls of the bag 10. The full extension of the front wall 13and side walls of the bag 10 mimics the performance of a fully-openedpaper bag, i.e., the full volume of the bag 10 is revealed, and permitsthe user to fill the bag 10 to capacity.

Each of the handle mounting arms also include an end portion 58Aopposite the rear wall which has a barrier or stopper that is designedto counteract the self-opening feature (e.g. contact adhesive 30) of thebags, thereby preventing a second bag from being removed from the rackas the first bag is pulled away. The stopper can comprise variousdifferent means, including a notch 80 in the top surface of the endportion of the handle mounting arm as shown in FIG. 5A. The notch 80 isof a depth suitable to provide resistive force sufficient to overcomethe adhesive force of the self-opening feature, and is preferably 1millimeter deep. The stopper may also comprise a raised feature on thetop surface of the handle mounting arm, the feature preferably being arubber cap or collar 81 as shown in FIG. 5B. The stopper may also, andpreferably comprises an upwardly angled portion 82 at the end portion ofthe handle mounting arm as shown in FIG. 13A. Increasing the angle ofthe upwardly angled portion beyond 30 degrees decreases the tendency ofthe handles to slide past the end portion of the mounting arms.Increasing the upwardly angled portion to approximately 40-45 degreesprevents a successive bag from sliding off the rack as the user pullsthe leader bag in a horizontal direction off the rack. Preferably, theupwardly angled portion is formed at approximately 45 degrees, as shownin FIG. 13A.

Two curved wire-bars serving as restraining arms 60 extend forwardlyfrom the sides of the bottom portion of the rear wall 54 of the rack 50.As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6A, the restraining arms 60 hold the bottomportion of the bag bundle against the rear wall 54 of the rack 50 toprevent the loose-hanging bottom portions of the bags 10 from creepingforward. As a result, there is more available work space at the lowersection of the rack 50 for full expansion of the bag 10 that is beingloaded. As shown in FIGS. 6B and 6C, the restraining arms 60 do nothinder the sliding motion of the bags 10 when pulled forward on thehandle mounting arms 58.

Two forward-curving tab mounting arms 62 are provided at the top centerof the rear wall 54 of the rack 50. When the bags 10 are loaded onto therack 50, the user inserts the tab mounting arms 62 through the aperturesformed by the tab mounting slots 28. The distance between the tabmounting arms 62 of the rack 50 is generally equal to the distancebetween the tab mounting slots 28 on the bag 10 so that extra force isnot necessary for sliding the tab mounting slots 28 of the bag 10 overthe tab mounting arms 62 of the rack 50.

The bags 10 are first loaded onto the handle mounting arms 58 and thenonto the tab mounting arms 62. Thus, the user first places the handleslots 22 of the bags 10 over the handle mounting arms 58 and then placesthe tab mounting slots 28 over the tab mounting arms 62.

Some conventional tab mounting arms are designed to be straight or tocurve towards the rear of the rack in order to prevent the tabs fromsliding off of the tab mounting arms. However, force is required tostretch the tab mounting aperture of some conventional bags in order tohang it over such conventional tab mounting arms. This also requires theuser to lift the bags up and over this type of conventional tab mountingarms. However, in the present invention, the tab mounting arms 62 curveforward, which makes it easier to slip the tab mounting slots 28 of thebags 10 over the tab mounting arms 62 from the front.

As shown in FIGS. 2-6C, the rack 50 includes two tab mounting arms 62.The use of two arms 62 rather than one reduces the possibility of thetab mounting slots 28 of the bags 10 sliding off the tab mounting arms62. However, it is to be understood that the rack 50 of the presentinvention can include one or more arms 62.

A bowed projection 64 is provided on the top center of the front side ofthe rear wall 54 of the rack 50. The projection 64 is centered betweenthe tab mounting arms 62 and pitches the bag bundle slightly forward atthe tabs 25, which increases the effectiveness of the self-openingfeature of the bag 10.

Optionally, a rearward protection 95 is provided on the top center ofthe rear side of the rear wall 54 of the rack. The projection 95 iscentered between the tab mounting arms 62 and supports the tabs 25, asshown in FIG. 15, which increases the effectiveness of the self-openingfeature of the bag 10.

After loading the bag, the bagger lifts the bag by scooping his handsthough the outer edge of the bag handles 20 into the opening E, whichare located between the two 2-ply gussets on each side of the bag asshown in FIG. 6C. The bagger then removes the loaded bag by pulling itforward off the rack mounting arms 58 in a horizontal motion. If thebags on the rack have a self-opening feature, the action of pulling theloaded bag forward off the rack will automatically pull the next bagforward. A barrier, such as notch 80, rubber cap 81, or upwardly angledportion 82, is provided to counteract the self-opening feature to ensurethat only the loaded bag, and not the next bag, is removed as the baggerpulls it off the rack, thereby preventing the waste of the second bag.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the t-shirt bag 10 with the handles 20 pulledaway from each other in preparation for loading onto the rack 50. Thegusseted t-shirt bag has the approximate dimensions 13″×8″×24″,according to one embodiment of the present invention as shown in FIGS. 1and 6C. These dimensions are disclosed to illustrate the features of theinvention. The invention obviously is not limited to specificdimensions.

In an unopened bag 10, as shown in FIG. 1, the distance between the topof the tab mounting slots 28 to the bottom seal 15 of the bag 10 isabout 18.25″. When the bag 10 is fully opened, the bag 10 creates abox-like shape with a base measuring approximately 8″×13″, as shown inFIGS. 6C & 8. The 8″ measurement spans the two gusset panels formed bythe gusset inner fold 11 and outer folds 12; each panel having a widthof approximately 4″. When the bag is fully opened to form a box, 4″ fromthe height of the front wall 13 and 4″ from the height of the back wall14 are used to create the 8″ base of the box. The actual height of thefront and back walls 13, 14 of the opened bag 10, from the base of theopened bag 10 to the top of tab mounting slots 28, is approximately14.25″, i.e., 18.25″−4″=14.25″, as shown in FIG. 6C.

The distance between the floor 52 of the rack 50, and the tab mountingarms 62 where they are connected to the top bar 55 is slightly more than14.25″, and in the rack 50 shown in FIG. 6C, the distance is about15.25″. As previously mentioned, when the bag 10 is unopened, the lengthof the front and rear walls 13, 14 of the bag 10 from the bottom of thebag 10 to the top of tab mounting slots 28 is 18.25″. After opening thebag 10 as shown in FIG. 6B and after starting to load items into the bag10, the base of the bag 10 begins to form. Gradually, as 4″ of theheight of each of the walls 13, 14 becomes part of the base, the heightof the rear wall 14 of the bag 10 decreases from approximately 18.25″ to14.25″. When the rear wall 14 of the bag 10 becomes shorter thanapproximately 15.25″, the rear wall 14 begins to stretch away from thetab mounting arms 62. Within a short time period, the tab mounting slots28 in the bag 10 tear from the tab mounting arms 62, e.g., due to theweight of the items that are loaded into the bag 10 or by the force fromthe user to pull the bag 10 from the rack 50, and the rear wall 14 ofthe bag 10. The rear wall 14 of the bag 10 is then no longer supportedby the tab mounting slots 28 and drops to the floor 52 of the rack 50.

As the bag 10 is fully opened, the handles 20 of the bag 10 move forwardon the handle mounting arms 58 towards the front of the rack 50. Theheight of the handle mounting arms 58 where they are connected to thetop bar 55 the rack 50 is approximately 15.25″, which is the same heightas the bottom of the tab mounting arms 62 of the rack 50 in thisembodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the distance between the bottom of the bag 10 to thetop of the handle mounting slots 22 is about 21.75″ so that the distancefrom the top of the handle mounting slots 22 to the tab mounting slots28 is about 3.5″. As a result, the height of the front wall 13, when thebag 10 is opened and the base of the bag 10 is about 13″×8″, is about17.75″ (21.75″−4″ gusset=17.75″) in this embodiment of the invention.

In some conventional racks, the handle mounting arms are straight andextend horizontally at a height of 15.25″ from the floor of the rack.Therefore, in these types of conventional racks, the height of the bag'sfront wall, which is approximately 17.75″, is about 2.5″ taller than thedistance between the floor and the top of the handle mounting arms ofthis type of conventional rack, which is approximately 15.25″. Thetaller height of the bag results in slack in the front wall 13 of thebag 10 when the bag is loaded onto this type of conventional rack. As aresult, the height of the front wall of the bag 10 appears 2.5″ shorterthan it would be if the front wall was fully-erected, thereby decreasingthe apparent volume of the bag 10 by about 14%, i.e.,(2.5″/17.75″)×100%. When the bag has a smaller apparent capacity, theuser thinks the bag is full when it in fact is not, and therefore, thespace in the bag is not used efficiently. Because the bags are notcompletely filled, the user tends to use more bags.

The present invention avoids this problem by providing handle mountingarms 58 with an upward slope that increases the height of the handlemounting arms 58, as measured from the floor 52 of the rack 50, fromabout 15.25″ near the rear of the arms 58 to about 17.75″ at the frontof the arms 58, i.e., a difference of 2.5″. This increase in heightpermits the full erection of the front wall 13 of the bag 10 andincreases the apparent height of the front wall 13 from 15.25″ to17.75″. This increase in apparent height also causes an increase inapparent volume of the bag 10 by about 14%, thereby giving theimpression that the user can put about 14% more merchandise in the bag10. Thus, the apparent volume of the bag 10 increases when there isminimal or no slack in the front, rear, and side walls.

The two side walls of the bag 10 created by the bag gussets hang fromthe handle mounting arms 58 of the rack 50. Like the front wall 13 ofthe bag 10, the side walls have slack due to the lower height of thehandle mounting arms 58 in the rear of the rack 50. However, since theside walls are attached to the front wall 13 of the bag 10, the sidewalls are pulled upward with the front wall 13 as the bag 10 is openedand pulled forward on the upwardly sloped handle mounting arms 58 of therack 50. Therefore, like the front wall 13, the side walls also losetheir slack and become fully erect when the bag 10 is moved toward thefront of the rack 50. As a result, the two front corners of the bag 10where the front wall 13 attaches to the side walls, are straightened,with the box-like shape of the bag 10 resembling an opened paper bag, asshown in FIG. 6C.

FIG. 9 is a front view of a t-shirt bag 70 according to a comparativeexample, and FIG. 10 is a front view of the t-shirt bag 70 with thehandles pulled away from each other in preparation for loading onto arack. In this comparative example, the handle mounting slots 72 arepositioned on a lower portion 74 of the handles 76 of the bag 10. Thiscomparative example illustrates what happens when the bag's handlemounting slots 72 are moved lower on the bag handles 70, therebydecreasing the distance between the handle mounting slots and the tabmounting slots.

As shown in FIG. 1, the width of the bag handles 20 of the invention isnarrower at the lower portion of the handles 20 than at the top.Therefore, positioning the handle mounting slots 72 at the lower portion74 of the handle 76 of the comparative example, as shown in FIGS. 9 and10, weakens the handle 76, thereby causing the handle 76 to tear orbreak more easily.

Furthermore, the distance to which the bag's handle mounting slots 72can be pulled apart decreases as the slots 72 are placed further down onthe handles 76. Since the front wall 13 of the bag 10 is about 13″ wide,the distance between the two handle mounting slots 72 in their normalposition, i.e., with the handles 76 not pulled apart, must be less than13″. On the other hand, the distance between the two handle mountingarms 58 of the rack 50 is 13″, which is the same as the width of thefront wall 13 of the bag 10. Therefore, the only way to increase thedistance between the two handle mounting C slots to 13″ is to place themat the upper portion of the bag handles 76 as indicated by referencecharacters 22 on FIGS. 1, 8, and 9. When the handle mounting C slots 22are placed at the upper portion of the handles 20, the handles 20 may bepulled far enough apart from each other, as shown in FIG. 8, so that thehandle mounting slots 22 can bridge the 13″ gap between the two handlemounting arms 58.

In an example of the present invention, the handle mounting C slots 22are separated by about 8.5″ in their normal positioned, i.e., with thehandles 20 not pulled apart, as shown in FIG. 9 and when the handles 20are pulled apart, the handle mounting slots 22 are separated by about13″, as showing in FIG. 8. However, when the handles 76 of the bag 70 ofthe comparative example are pulled apart, the distance between thehandle mounting slots 72 cannot be increased to 13″ since the slots arelocated at the lower portion 74 of the bag handles 76, as shown in FIG.10. The distance between the handle mounting slots 72 ranges fromapproximately 9″ to 9.8″ in the comparative example.

The t-shirt bags of the present invention provide an efficientself-opening feature and provide tabs that remain useful after the bagsare dispensed from the rack. The tabs do not remain on the rack andtherefore do not create waste. The tabs are also long enough so thatthey can be tied together to provide a reliable closure mechanism whichcan be removed to reopen the bags.

The bagging system also includes several features that allow the bags tobe self-opening, such as the bowed projection on the rear wall of therack and a contact adhesive placed on the bag near the tab mountingslots, on the bottom of the tabs, or near the top of the walls of thebag.

The handle mounting arms of the rack extend upwardly to allow the bagsto have a greater apparent capacity, so that the user can fill the bagsmore efficiently, thereby leading to less waste. The greater height ofthe mounting arms also increases the amount of work space available inthe lower section of the rack to allow the bags to more fully expandwhen items are being placed in the bags.

The concave portion of the top bar of the rack pitches the bag forwardto decrease the amount of force necessary to separate the front wallfrom the rear wall of the bags. The tabs of the bags that are loadedonto the rack are positioned to extend over the concave portion of thetop bar. Therefore, the tabs are situated in this space until thecorresponding bag is removed from the rack. Since the tabs arepositioned in the space formed by the concave portion and do not spillforward, the rear wall of the rack can be positioned flush against thewall of the bagging station, thereby providing a clean, attractiveappearance.

The tab mounting arms are forward curving to allow the user to load thebags more easily from the front and prevent the bags from sliding offthe mounting arms.

Additionally, a side-mounted bag dispensing attachment 100 may beincluded with the main bag rack. FIG. 16 is an exploded perspective viewof the side-mounted bag attachment 100 showing its mounting position onthe rack 50′. The attachment 100 includes a handle support arm 101 whichincludes a side projection 102, an attachment mounting plate 104, a tabmounting hook 103, and attachment mounting clips 105-108.

The rack 50′, which is also suited to be used with bags 10, is providedwith a support 90 for supporting the side-mounted bag dispensingattachment 100. As shown in FIG. 13, the support 90 includes an upperbar 92, intermediate bar 93, and a lower bar 94. As shown in FIGS.16-18, the attachment clips 105-108 of the side-mounted bag dispensingattachment 100 engage the support 90 of the rack 50′. The attachmentclips 105-108 are arranged to engage the upper, intermediate bar, andlower bars 92-94, thereby holding the attachment 100 in place. FIG. 18is a cross-sectional view of the attachment 100 attached to the support90. The attachment clips are biased such that attachment clips 105 and106 are more curved than clips 107 and 108. Thus, the side-mountedattachment 100 can be mounted on the support 90 by first engaging clips105 and 106 and then rotating the attachment 100 into place so thatclips 107 and 108 engage the support 90. The side-mounted bag dispenserattachment 100 can be removed for the rack 50′ by rotating theattachment in the opposite direction until the clips 107 and 108disengage the support and then clips 105 and 106 can be disengaged aswell. Therefore, a side-mounted bag dispenser attachment 100 is providedthat can be selectively attached to the bag rack 50′. Other means forselectively attaching the side-mounted bag dispenser 100 to the rack maybe employed, such as clamps, a peg and key hole slot combination, or anyother suitable means. A side-mounted bag dispenser 100 can be providedon either side of rack 50′, or even both sides.

As shown in FIG. 19, the side-mounted bag dispenser attachment 100 issuitable for holding additional convenience bags 110. The bags 110 havehandles 114 with handle mounting slots 111 and a tab 113 with a tabmounting slot 112. The bags may also include a self-opening feature,such as a spot of contact adhesive (not shown). When the bags 110 areloaded onto the side-mounted dispenser 100, the user inserts the handlesupport arm 101 through the aperture formed by handle mounting slot 111.The user then inserts the tab mounting hook 103 through the apertureformed by the tab mounting slot 112.

As a user places items into bag 110, the tab mounting slot 112 maypartly tear causing the tab 113 of the bag 110 to be dislodged from thetab mounting hook 103. However, the bag 110 remains supported by the baghandle 114 which is supported by the handle support arm 101. Thus, theuser can continue to fill the bag 110 with various items without theneed to support the bag. After the user has loaded the bag, the bag 110may be removed by horizontally sliding the bag along the handle supportarm 101. If a self-opening feature is included with the bags, slidingthe loaded first bag will cause the successive bag to open. Handlesupport arm 101 is featured with an end portion 58A similar to the endportion of the main bag rack handle mounting arms 58, which includes abarrier or stopper. The barrier or stopper may include a notch 80, arubber stopper 81, or an upwardly angled portion 82 as shown in FIGS.5A, 5B, and 13A. The end portion of the handle support arm 101 of theside-mounted dispenser attachment 100 preferably includes an upwardlyangled portion 82, preferably having an angle of approximately 45degrees. The angled portion 82 provides sufficient force to overcome theadhesive force of the self-opening feature of bags 110, therebypreventing a successive bag from being pulled from the side-mounteddispenser 100 as the lead bag is removed.

Having described embodiments of the invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to those precise embodiments, and that various changes andmodifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

1. In combination, a rack, comprising a rear wall having a top portion,a bottom portion, and sides; a pair of generally forwardly extendinglaterally-spaced handle mounting arms extending from the rear wall atone end, at least a portion of each handle mounting arm extendingforwardly and upwardly; a generally horizontally and laterally-extendingtop bar supported by the rear wall, the top bar having a concave portionextending forwardly from the rear wall, the concave portion forming ahollow between the top bar and the top portion of rear wall, the hollowbeing laterally centrally located in relation to the handle mountingarms; a pair of generally upwardly and forwardly extendinglaterally-spaced tab mounting arms, the tab mounting arms beingcentrally located along the top portion of the rear wall in relation tothe handle mounting arms, each tab mounting arm being supported by therear wall at one end and having an outer end; a pack of plastic T-shirtbags, each bag comprising a tube of plastic film folded to form frontand rear walls and side gussets, each gusset including an inner fold,the plastic film being sealed to form an upper and bottom seal; handlesformed in the gusseted portions of the bag, each handle having a handlemounting slot positioned on the handle and sized to receive the handlemounting arms of the rack; tabs extending from the top edges of thewalls between the handles, each tab comprising a top edge, side edges,and a bottom portion that joins the tab to the top edge of a wall, a tabmounting slot formed on each side of the tab proximate to the bottomportion and side edge and sized to receive the tab mounting arms of therack, the tabs being dimensioned so as to permit the tabs to be tiedtogether when items are disposed within the bag; and the handle mountingslots and the tab mounting slots of the bags of the pack of bags beingmounted on the handle mounting arms and the tab mounting arms,respectively.
 2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the pack of bagsincludes contact adhesive disposed between the front and rear walls ofadjacent bags, the adhesive being strong enough to pull open asuccessive adjacent bag as a leading bag is removed from the rack; andthe ends of the handle mounting arms opposite the rear wall havingstopper means for preventing removal of successive bags from the pack ofbags as a leading bag is removed from the rack.
 3. The combination ofclaims 1 or 2, wherein the rack further comprises a support extendingfrom the side of the rear wall; and in further combination aside-mounted bag dispenser, said dispenser comprising a mounting plate,a handle support arm forwardly extending from the mounting plate, aprojection laterally extending from the mounting plate, a tab mountinghook connected to the lateral projection, and attachment means forselectively attaching the side-mounted bag dispenser to the support ofthe rack; and a second pack of plastic T-shirt bags, each bag includinghandles, each handle having a handle mounting slot positioned on thehandle and sized to receive the handle support arm of the side-mountedbag dispenser; tabs, each tab having a tab mounting slot sized toreceive the tab mounting hook; and the handle mounting slots of one setof the handles and the tab mounting slots of the bags of the second packof bags being mounted on the handle support arm and the tab mountinghook, respectively.
 4. A rack for mounting a pack of self-openingplastic T-shirt bags, the bags having a handle portion and a bottomportion, comprising: a rear wall having a top portion, a bottom portion,and sides; a pair of generally forwardly extending laterally-spacedhandle mounting arms extending from the rear wall at one end, at least aportion of each handle mounting arm extending forwardly and upwardly; agenerally horizontally and laterally-extending top bar supported by therear wall, the top bar having a concave portion extending forwardly fromthe rear wall, the concave portion forming a hollow between the top barand the top portion of rear wall, the hollow being laterally centrallylocated in relation to the handle mounting arms; a pair of generallyupwardly and forwardly extending laterally-spaced tab mounting arms, thetab mounting arms being centrally located along the top portion of therear wall in relation to the handle mounting arms, each tab mounting armbeing supported by the rear wall at one end and having an outer end; andthe ends of the handle mounting arms opposite the rear wall havingstopper means for preventing removal of successive bags from the pack ofbags as a leading bag is removed from the rack.
 5. The rack of claim 4,wherein the stopper means includes a notch.
 6. The rack of claim 4,wherein the stopper means includes a raised protrusion.
 7. The rack ofclaim 6, wherein the raised protrusion includes a rubber collar.
 8. Therack of claim 4, wherein the stopper means includes an upwardly angledportion.
 9. The rack of claim 8, wherein the angle at which the upwardlyangled portion extends is at least about 30 degrees.
 10. The rack ofclaim 8, wherein the angle at which the upwardly angled portion extendsis between about 40 and 45 degrees,
 11. The rack of claim 4, furthercomprising: a pair of restraining arms extending forwardly from thesides of the bottom portion of the rear wall, each restraining armincluding a forward portion and an end portion extending inwardly fromthe forward portion, the restraining arms being dimensioned so as toinhibit forward movement of the bottom portion of the pack of bags. 12.The rack of claim 4 or 11, further comprising: a bowed projection forpitching the bag bundle forwardly attached to the top portion of therear wall, and laterally centered in relation to the tab mounting arms.13. The rack of claim 4 or 11, further comprising: a support extendingfrom the side of the rear wall; and a side-mounted bag dispenser formounting a second pack of T-shirt bags, the dispenser being selectivelyattached to the support.
 14. The rack of claim 13, wherein theside-mounted bag dispenser includes a mounting plate, a handle supportarm forwardly extending from the mounting plate, a projection laterallyextending from the mounting plate, a tab mounting hook connected to thelateral projection, and attachment means for selectively attaching theside-mounted bag dispenser to the support.
 15. The rack of claim 14,wherein the attachment means includes at least a first and second clip.16. The rack of claim 15, wherein the first clip has a greater degree ofcurvature as compared to the second such that the side-mounted bagdispenser can be selectively attached to the rack by rotating theside-mounted bag dispenser.
 17. The rack of claim 14, wherein the secondpack of T-shirt bags includes a self-opening feature, and the end of thehandle support arm opposite the mounting plate has stopper means forpreventing removal of successive bags from the second pack of bags as aleading bag is removed from the side-mounted dispenser.
 18. Aside-mounted bag dispenser for mounting a pack of T-shirt bags, thedispenser capable of being selectively attached to a bag rack,comprising: a mounting plate; a handle support arm forwardly extendingfrom the mounting plate; a projection laterally extending from themounting plate; a tab mounting hook connected to the lateral projection;and attachment means for selectively attaching the side-mounted bagdispenser to the bag rack.
 19. The bag dispenser of claim 18, whereinthe attachment means includes at least a first and second clip.
 20. Thebag dispenser of claim 19, wherein the first clip has a greater degreeof curvature as compared to the second such that the side-mounted bagdispenser can be selectively attached to the rack by rotating theside-mounted bag dispenser.
 21. The bag dispenser of claim 18, whereinthe pack of T-shirt bags includes a self-opening feature for causing asuccessive adjacent bag to open as a leading bag is removed from theside-mounted dispenser, and the end of the handle support arm oppositethe mounting plate has stopper means for preventing removal ofsuccessive bags from the pack of bags as the leading bag is removed fromthe side-mounted dispenser.
 22. The bag dispenser of claim 21, whereinthe stopper means includes a notch.
 23. The bag dispenser of claim 21,wherein the stopper means includes a raised protrusion.
 24. The bagdispenser of claim 23, wherein the raised protrusion includes a rubbercollar.
 25. The bag dispenser of claim 21, wherein the stopper meansincludes an upwardly angled portion.
 26. The bag dispenser of claim 25,wherein the angle at which the upwardly angled portion extends is atleast about 30 degrees.
 26. The bag dispenser of claim 25, wherein theangle at which the upwardly angled portion extends is between about 40and 45 degrees.
 27. A plastic T-shirt bag, comprising: a tube of plasticfilm folded to form front and rear walls and side gussets, each gussetincluding an inner fold, the plastic film being sealed to form an upperand bottom seal; handles formed in the gusseted portions of the bag;tabs extending from the top edges of the walls between the handles, eachtab comprising a top edge, side edges, and a bottom portion that joinsthe tab to the top edge of a wall, a tab mounting slot formed on eachside of the tab proximate to the bottom portion and side edge, the tabsbeing dimensioned so as to permit the tabs to be tied together whenitems are disposed within the bag.
 28. The T-shirt bag of claim 27,wherein each tab further includes a central slot formed near the centerof the bottom portion of the tab for facilitating the separation of thetab from the wall.
 29. A pack of bags comprising a plurality of T-shirtbags of claim 27 or 28, the T-shirt bags further comprising: contactadhesive disposed between the front and rear walls of adjacent bags, theadhesive being strong enough to pull open a rearwardly lying bag of theplurality bags as an adjacent forwardly lying bag is separated from thepack of bags.
 30. The pack of bags of claim 29, wherein the contactadhesive is proximate to one of the tab mounting slots.